Masco Corp. suffered an operating loss of $798 million dollars during the fourth quarter of 2010, the company announced Monday. The loss is a huge increase over the $197 million operating loss the company posted during the same period in 2009.

The Taylor, Mich.-based company's operating loss was attributed to a $721 million impairment charge the company took during the quarter. The company produces such home improvement products as Delta faucets, Arrow fasteners, and KraftMaid cabinetry.

For the year, the company posted an operating loss of $499 million, a huge swing into the red from the $55 million operating profit posted during 2009. Sales for 2010 were $7.6 billion, down slightly from the $7.8 billion in sales the company posted during the year prior.

As for it's individual segments, the cabinets and related products division posted an operating loss of $137 million, a huge fall from the $8 million operating loss the segment posted during fourth quarter 2009. The division posted net sales of $304 million during the quarter, down from the $426 million the segment posted a year earlier. For the year, the segment posted an operating loss of $250 million on net sales of $1.5 billion.

The plumbing products segment saw a rise in operating profit to $64 million, an 83% increase over fourth quarter 2009's results. The segment posted the improved operating profit, even though net sales fell to $661 million from $671 million in 2009. The segment saw operating profits of $331 million for the year during 2010, a 40% improvement over 2009.

The installation and other services segment posted an inflated operating loss of $747 million during the quarter, a huge increase over the $27 million operating loss posted during the same period last year. Net sales also decreased to $273 million from $295 during fourth quarter 2009. Installation and other services continued to hit it hard during 2010 as operating loss spiked to $834 million from $131 million in 2009.

Masco's other specialty products segment made the biggest swing by working out of the red to an operating profit of $3 million during the quarter, up from the $215 million operating loss the segment posted in the last quarter of 2009. The company also announced a huge improvement for this segment with an operating profit of $19 million, another huge swing out of the red. The segment posted a $199 million operating loss during the year prior.

"Industry conditions in 2010 continued to be challenging and it was a tough year for Masco.In many ways 2010 was a tale of two halves," said CEO Tim Wadhams. "As the year progressed, the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, increasing commodity costs and the competitive environment made the second half of 2010 much more challenging and our sales were down seven percent compared to second half 2009."